My invention pertains to the manufacture of baby grand and upright toy pianos. Toy pianos are generally smaller than a typical piano and usually have around eighteen to forty-nine keys although there are some variations. One of the difficulties in the toy piano industry is that many of the pianos are damaged during the shipping process. Currently the sides of the toy piano are glued and it is impossible to remove the damaged part without damaging the other exterior parts of the piano. Because of the current manufacturing process, the piano must be discarded.
My invention is a toy piano and manufacturing process therefor by which replacement parts are created and can be easily substituted for the original parts used. In the event that a part of the exterior of the piano is damaged, the replacement part can be used to replace the damaged part. In addition to reducing the costs of replacement of a piano, it also leads to greater customer service satisfaction because the customer is not forced to wait for a replacement piano. There are prior art references to manufacturing processes for toy pianos and toy pianos, but none that involve a manufacturing process for a toy piano and a toy piano as specified herein.
The essential parts of a piano are the same in both the baby grand and the upright version of the toy piano. Baby grand and upright toy pianos rest on the floor typically with a set of legs. The exact style of the support means such as the legs may be different and may vary from company to company and by style of piano, but each piano must be supported by a set of legs or functionally equivalent support members. On the front of the piano will be a set of keys, both white and black, on which the child can play. As stated earlier, a toy piano is typically a piano with fewer keys and the child sits in front of those keys to play the instrument. A front member that forms part of the enclosure that houses the sound board will be placed perpendicular to the keys and will usually be connected to the bottom surface of the piano. The legs themselves will typically be attached to the bottom surface of the piano and will be able to support the weight of the piano. Different style supports of legs may be used but the weight of the piano must be supported.
Overall the piano has a predetermined shape created by joining a plurality of planar side forming members including a bottom member and a plurality of side members, which side members include a back side member, a front side member, and lateral side members. The lateral side members are generally secured to the bottom side of the piano. The two lateral side members, a back side member and a front side member form a box or enclosure around the interior components of the piano. Fixed within the interior of the enclosure that is formed will be the sound board that produces the music when the piano is played. With the baby grand version a plate or protective covering will be placed above the sound board to protect the sound board. Over the top of the protective plate will be the top member which forms the top surface of the piano/enclosure. The top member will mate with the lateral side members, back side member and front side member of the piano to compete the enclosure that houses the sound board. These sides will be constructed from pre-sized pieces to fit a variety of pianos that will be connected by a non-permanent connector of some type. The connector may vary because of piano style but it is anticipated that the connectors will be threaded members.
In order to insure that the parts fit within the frame of a toy piano, provide a means for non-permanently affixing the lateral sides and other parts of the toy piano together, and to assist in stabilizing and strengthening the structure of the toy piano, stop pieces (or “blocks”) are provided. These can take the form of horizontal or vertical pieces that extend along the length or breadth of a piano side forming member, typically that of lateral side members. However, in some cases they can also take the form of a planar member, such as the planar stop piece used for this purpose in the toy upright. Their stability and durability and, hence, that of the entire toy piano structure are improved by nesting some portion of these blocks in a parallel groove (“dado”) provided in the surface of the said side forming member, providing increased surface area for adhesive and generally creating a much stronger and more reliable juncture between parts.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, the horizontal stop pieces or blocks are separated by a vertical stop piece. The vertical stop piece separates the keys of the piano from the sound board. The use of the horizontal and vertical stop pieces insures that the pieces that are cut are all uniform in length. A hole in the horizontal stop piece is provided for the connector used to secure lateral side members in this embodiment, and is typical of the use of stop members or blocks for this purpose in the invention.
Typically the damage to a toy piano occurs during the shipping process and usually the damage is to the legs or a portion of the exterior that forms the housing to protect the sound board. With this application the damaged part is removed by removing the connectors and the replacement part is inserted in its place. In order to insure that the replacement part is aesthetically pleasing the replacement part may be manufactured with the same color paint as the original piano.
A series of slots and grooves are also provided in the lateral side members and bottom member of the piano. These also act in a manner similar to dados into which transverse abutting members (side or bottom) are fitted, simultaneously providing a strengthened connection between such adjacent and abutting parts (since the use of removable connectors as previously specified eliminates the need to glue such parts together) while allowing damaged part(s) to be easily removed after loosening and removal of such connectors so that a replacement part can be inserted. For instance, if a side member becomes damaged, the side member can be replaced by removing the connector without the need to discard the entire piano.
In summary, the chief problem to be overcome in producing a piano or toy piano with the desirable features described herein is how to create an enclosure where portions (primarily sides) thereof can be easily replaced that is still as solid, durable and functional as an enclosure where abutting edges and ends of the side forming members are permanently affixed to each other by gluing them together or otherwise. I have discovered that this can be accomplished by providing a combination and system whereby (1) stop pieces (or block members) are permanently affixed to certain side forming members, allowing certain other side forming members to be non-permanently affixed thereto via connectors anchored to said block members; (2) horizontal slits are provided near the bottom of certain side members to fit over edges of the bottom member, allowing the edges of said bottom member to firmly but non-permanently nest therein; and (3) vertical grooves are provided near ends of certain side members to fit over ends of certain other side members, allowing the ends of said certain other side members to firmly but non-permanently nest therein.
Further, I have found that best results and appearance are obtained when two vertical grooves are provided in each lateral side member (allowing front and back side pieces to nest therein), and block (stop piece) and non-permanent connector combinations are used to non-permanently attach the lateral side members to the bottom member and/or the top member, holding the front and back side members locked into position in the aforesaid vertical grooves with the previously mentioned horizontal slits further stabilizing the connection and positioning of the lateral side members with respect to the bottom member. Likewise, it is also highly desirable and advantageous in assuring stability and durability of the structure and the permanent connection between the block and the member to which it is affixed to have some portion of the aforesaid block affixed in a parallel groove (“dado”) as discussed above. These and other preferred features of my invention will be discussed in more detail below.